Thursday, May 5, 2011

Experience and Accomplishments

As the anchor of the campaign, around which everything revolves, the dungeons of the Bleak Beyond will factor into the very rules which govern game play. Along with the various tables and conventions specifically designed to power the game sessions, one will find a game unto itself in what I hope to be a rather brief How to Play section. Just the nuts and bolts of a game, one which can be adopted or ignored in favor of one's preferred edition.

The How to Play section of the Bleak Beyond is not intended to be a clone of D&D. It is more or less a generic system which will cover such things as Dice, Hits, Combat, Armor, Saves, Tasks and Character Advancement. The mechanics that run behind the scenes of the game. Tasks have been covered using the 5+ guide in the Art of Delving. The other terms are fairly self-explanatory. Combat is distilled to a table-less formula, which was covered here and here a few years back.

A bit of a departure from the old school? Not in my mind. I just find the method more logical and simpler to implement. The true major departure from the accepted rules is found in the guide for Character Advancement. Here's where we find the dungeon itself influencing the rules.

The Bleak Beyond does not use a hard and fast advancement via experience points system. Since nearly all of the players' efforts will involve dangerous plunges into the underworld, the only set-in-stone method for gaining levels is by successfully looting manually placed Treasure Troves. Not your run of the mill loot stashes but rather those specific riches which are mentioned in Vol. III with the suggestion to “thoughtfully place several of the most important treasures” before dicing for random distribution. Here's the core of the approach:

Experience by Plundering

Characters gain one experience level whenever they are a member of an expedition which makes off with a Treasure Trove, by successfully returning with it to town, providing the loot was plundered from a dungeon level which is of equal or greater value than the character's own current level.

Yep. No experience points whatsoever.

There are restrictions to the experience by plundering system, however. Normal advancement halts at the top level of each tier, levels 3, 6 and 9. In order to unlock the subsequent tiers which begin with levels 4, 7 and 10, the character will be required to meet certain criteria based on successful exploration of the Bleak Beyond.

The dungeon rewards characters who accomplish certain goals. For humankind there are currently 13 such accomplishments, along with one race accomplishment for each non-human class which lifts their standard maximum level and allows further progress. Players must track the number of each specific accomplishment, along with the reward gained, on the back of their character sheet for future reference and to prevent possible double-dipping.

Refs might of course allow alternate methods of advancement. It is certainly not a game world in which the only method of advancing as a character is by gaining Bleak Beyond experience. This is simply how one does so within this particular dungeon. Exploring the wilderness of the Unbidden Lands holds its own rewards, after all (which will be explained in an upcoming post).

I may or may not add to this list in the future, and since none of this is quite set in stone there is no accompanying PDF this time. Here's what I've got so far.

Accomplishments / Rewards

1.Etch name on the Big Block of So and So's Fate / Unlock 4th Character Level2.Shake the hand of Skellington in the Writhing Sepulchre / Unlock 7th Character Level3.Obtain a Morkevagten Writ of Passage from the Citadel / Unlock 10th Character Level4.Bring a Fallen Knight to justice / +1 Primary or Random5.Oust the Mayor of Awfulville / +1 Primary or Random6.Earn a Key to the Swallowed City / +1 Primary or Random7.Release a Trapped Soul from the Chapel of the Jilted Bride / +1d6 Hits8.Smuggle an intact Ubernana to the surface / +1d6 Hits9.Ring the Gilded Bell of the Excommunicated / +1 Primary or Random10.Awaken the Sleeping She-Paladin / +1d6 Hits11.Lay the Evil Dude to rest in his Domain / +1d6 Hits12.Learn Sham's Secret from Sham himself / +1 Ability of Choice13.Visit the Four Corners of Balmorphiact / +1 Ability of Choice

Non-human Accomplishments / Rewards

The following non-human accomplishments remove the standard class level maximum for each respective race. They do not however supersede the advancement accomplishments required as detailed in numbers 1-3 above.

Enter the Supreme Citadel of the Morkevagten through the front door / Unlock Dwarf 7thSurvive an arena match in the Swallowed City / Unlock Elf FM 5thLearn a new spell in the Palace of Ceaseless Extravagance / Unlock Elf MU 9thTaste Chuckhole Hooch straight from a still in Chuckhole Hollow / Unlock Hobbit 5thBring home the head of a Nisse / Unlock Aelfar FM 7thTake a nap in the Dens of Undesired Dream / Unlock Aelfar MU 7thPull one of Vrimnas's levers and live to tell the tale / Unlock Doende 7thPerform guard duty at the Shrine of the Sleeping She-Paladin / Unlock Dvergar 7thBring home a real live Crumblebumian / Unlock Irkling 7thTithe at the Church of the Excommunicated / Unlock Troldekin FM 7thBecome irradiated on the Level w/ No Name / Unlock Troldekin MU 7th

They're definitely gamey, but I like them. I think tying advancement in a limited context like this to the mythical/legendary attributes of the adventuring locale makes a lot of sense. It doesn't eliminate any of the sandboxiness of the setting, except that it eliminates the possibility that a straight xp-grind is going to make it easier to descend/explore further.

Plus, it gives the players major touchstones they can refer to--one item I'm having difficulty with so far in my Stonehell campaign is in thinking through the context of engagement with the dungeon. That is, what other adventurers are saying about it, what kinds of experiences they're having that they might be willing to share with other adventurers, either to boast or to warn...

One of the earliest bits of lore characters learn about the Bleak Beyond is that any true delver worth his salt that wants to earn "street cred" needs to etch his name on the Big Block. So, bragging rights, and unlocking advancement to tier two, character levels 4-6, all in one accomplishment.

How I filter these rumors out during the campaign will go a long way to providing the opportunity for the type of character - dungeon engagement you refer to.

That said, you have to understand a bit about Awfulville. Go ahead and befriend the Mayor. In a week or so he will be ousted and after much Phlemok bloodshed a new Mayor will "win the election". It's a never-ending cycle of gang wars in Awfulville.

I want these to be fairly specific, that's the charm from my design approach.

Maybe that particular one does limit player choices, but all of these accomplishments are optional. Only three or four are required in order to attain max level.

Anyway, achievements are gamey, but are also extremely storey. They don't only express a way to gain cred/empowerment/trust/will to fight/"oh i've seen such things you would not believe" but they also make sense as a rite of passage, which is extremely important in tribal, primitive and traditional societies so central to fantasy and also in the myths and faerie tales that they generate, where the rite effectively changes the nature of the person, allowing different behaviour and also, interestingly, barring other behaviours. can you imagine archmages being barred from level 1 spells, or swordmasters being barreed from wearing heavy armour because it harms their cred and shows that their skill is not that high? that would be interesting indeed.

I can perfectly see accomplishments like "defeat 10 knights singlehandedly", "sail across the world", "rescue a prince/ss from a dragon, marry up and get an heir" not only as rites of passages or ways to pass a level but also as possible endgame targets, where the traditional D&D one is "build a mighty stronghold". Such goals can be class/race/campaign specific, with possibly players and GM agreeing additional for specific PCs, like "kill the man with 12 fingers so to avenge my father" or "destroy every copy of DarkMantle's Codex"; even better such achievements can be either fully decided at the beginning of the PC or campaign or decided during the game.

Some very interesting thoughts, tsojcanth. I like the idea of tailor-making individual goals/accomplishments for each PC at the outset. Currently my How to Play has a level cap of 12 for each class. Perhaps Level 13 can be unlocked by meeting that ultimate goal. I will have to consider that one further.

By the time more of the Bleak Beyond is written I should be able to flesh this out further...probably adding more minor accomplishments to the list along the way.

Another lost comment. It was about having different approaches to the fighter endgame through either marrying up or slaying a king and conquering the related kingdom, with different advantages gained (fame & cultural supremacy vs sheer badassery & awe).

Also, was wondering whether cards or badges can be used to store/note achievements :)

Cool idea. Cards would work since everyone has access to them. If I do add more minor accomplishments along with fewer group based ones I could see the development of a mini-game of sorts using the cards. Interesting.

I also like your idea in regard to alternatives to the so-called end game. Rather than strongholds allow for other more interesting paths to fame/fortune.

Thanks JD. I have the tables worked up for all of the classes. While each can get to level 12 once they do the pre-reqs, the demi-humans have only small incremental improvements past that first unlocked level.

For example, a Dwarf does not improve his combat rating or number of hit dice after 7th. He does however gain 2 hits/level and his saves improve. So yeah, level 12 Dwarves are possible, but they aren't nearly as good at Combat as a level 12 FM.

I'll post that info once I hammer out more on this topic which is threatening to spin out of control.

I got news for you Sham, this thread spun out of control already, and we're all waiting for more material :)

By the way, I never really used racial limits, preferring to compensate racial bonuses with xp and hits penalties. Once the level is high enough every increase of power given by level is really, really marginal. The only stat relevant at that is save and semihumans have averages that go from +2 to +5 better, putting them in the "2 or more to save" pretty easily at level 10ish with some magic.Do we need level limits for non-humans? Seriously? :)

tsoj: For me the demi-human level limits are just a matter of taste. There was a time where I agreed with your stance. My experience with ignoring them, or when running Arduin, has been that no one played a human at all. Now, the question then is does this matter? I suppose not. Gygax's vision of the world in which D&D was set encouraged a human-centric campaign. Maybe based on his inspirations, influences and preferences at that time.

If I move forward with things planned as is, there is no true level limit now. Some of the classes, notably the Hobbit and the Elf FM, are downright weak when compared to a FM when both are at 12. The Hobbit has better saves, but low Hits and Combat scores. The Elf will likely be working on his MU class as well, so really the Hobbit is the lone "gimp" at 12.

I should share my mocked up character tables in order to explain. Demi-humans of course have bonuses which make them invaluable members of low level parties, and with my no-thief system, they remain the best at the art of delving.

Blair: In my desire to tie specific rules with the campaign's centerpiece I have been considering many ideas. I would like to make some claim of individual inspiration...but it would be naive to do so with much of my work.

I have always blended ideas from various sources in my games, and there's no doubt that the achievements were sideways inspired by computer games (I don't play consoles).

The idea to marry the dungeon and some of its quirks to the rules and to character advancement is mine, but the achievement idea is not really my own.

I really like your ideas about giving incentives to get the players to interact with the game world more.

I have blogged (in German, though) about using something like Xbox Live achievements to give players an additional incentive for trying out stuff down in the dungeon. I have tied these "achievements" to D&D4's system of major and minor quests, giving out small amounts of XP for doing some stuff like pulling certain levers a given number of times, just to give an example. But my approach was much more heavy-handed than yours and not very well thought out.

I’ve been considering “achievements” that would grant a little bonus XP, but I was having trouble coming up with some. Making them setting-specific was exactly the sort of thing I somehow didn’t think of. Thanks!

Character-specific achievements are akin to other ideas I’ve had. I really like the idea of giving each PC a unique (and potentially secret) goal.

I took a cue from pulpy sci-fi romance and adventure media; The Human Protagonist is always quite adept at Adapting, picks up the necessary skills relevant to the Alien World Quickly, seems extraordinarily Lucky, and proves surprisingly Difficult to Kill! In game terms: Humans receive +10% earned XP, have +1 to all Saves, and add +1HP/lvl to rolled HP. No extraordinary, specific ABILITIES like "Infravision", but rather a few generalized, broadly useful EDGEs

About Me

East Coast Gamer.
One time Rabble-Rouser.
Self styled D&D Grognard.
God fearing Father of two.
Happily married Man of many, many interests, too many to list.
OK, really just D&D and ...Well, that's it really. D&D.